The invention relates to a clamping mechanism, particularly to such a mechanism as can be used for clamping a closure such as a cone seal in an aperture of a container, hopper, silo, or intermediate bulk container (I.B.C.), etc. which is used to store and/or transport, or mix, flowable material such as powder, granulated material or the like.
For various reasons, such as the need to contain the material so that it does not cross-contaminate with materials or to ensure that it does not escape to the ambient atmosphere with possibly detrimental environmental consequences, it is necessary to try to ensure as good a seal of the cone seal as possible. However, it has generally proved difficult to ensure that the cone does not become dislodged or tilted, or leak, during transport or use, particularly as it has to be borne in mind that the I.B.C. can carry as much as two tons or more of material. In a blender operation, the container is rotated end, over end and the cone can have an extremely high instantaneous component of lateral force on it when it is in a momentarily horizontal position, and this tends to dislodge the cone or cause it to leak.